


Chuckles the Cat

by resonae



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Becket sandwich with a slice of Chuck in the middle, Everyone lives, M/M, Or maybe were-cat!Chuck, cat!Chuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-11
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2017-12-26 07:28:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/963232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resonae/pseuds/resonae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yancy brings home an adopted cat named Chuckles.</p><p>It was all nice, really. Until Yancy and Raleigh came home at 3 AM after a late night shift, and found a naked man on their couch. With cat ears, a tail, and Chuckles’ black collar around his neck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

“What the hell is that?”

 

Yancy looked at him, his eyebrow raised. “Rals, I know your brain isn’t the best on the planet, but still.”

 

“No, you dumb fuck.” Raleigh stalked over to where his older brother was and picked up the mass of ginger fur by the scruff of its neck. “I know it’s a cat. I meant, why do you have it?”

 

“I dunno. One of those pet stores were having an adoption day, or something. He was just calling to me with his big green eyes, so I adopted him without even thinking about it. His name is Chuckles.”

 

Raleigh stared at the cat. “What kind of abomination named you  _Chuckles_?” He dropped the cat back into Yancy’s lap. It yowled at Raleigh, like it was annoyed, and rubbed its cheek on Yancy’s stomach. “We can’t afford a pet, Yance.”

 

“He’s got all his shots and he’s house trained. Come on, kiddo. I can’t take him back _now_. We’ll just get him litter and feed him scraps. My friend raised his dog on scraps and his dog lived a healthy 15 years.” Yancy reached down to rub the cat’s ears, and Raleigh _swore_ it smiled as it rubbed its head under Yancy’s hand.

 

Raleigh stared. “We don’t _have_ scraps.” He sat down next to Yancy anyway and scratched the cat under its chin. It started to purr, its tail hanging low and swinging contently, and Raleigh knew the battle was lost before he even fought it.

 

\--

 

“Does cat litter expire?”

 

“How am _I_ supposed to know?”

 

Yancy and Raleigh quickly found out that while Chuckles ate anything they tossed at him, and had no complaints drinking tap water from an old bowl, he needed litter. And litter shopping was apparently more complicated than they’d thought. Chuckles was staring up at them from Yancy’s hands, and Raleigh swore the cat was judging them.

 

“I don’t think cat litter expires. Why else would they sell such huge bags?” Raleigh picked up the biggest bag and slung it over his shoulder.

 

“Maybe some cats shit a brick?” Yancy snickered, and Chuckles yowled indignantly from his hands. “I swear he understands us.” He scratched the cat’s ears until he purred happily. “You good with carrying that?”

 

Raleigh rolled his eyes. “I’d rather carry the litter than the cat. He hates me.”

 

Yancy mirrored his movement and rolled _his_ eyes. “He doesn’t hate you. You’re just too rough with him, that’s all.”

 

\--

 

Days passed and it was _obvious_ Chuckles had a favorite. The cat always slept in Yancy’s upper bunk, even when Yancy was out on an overnight shift. The one time Raleigh tried to keep the cat in his bed out of spite, he ended up with scratches all over his arms. “Dumb cat.” Raleigh said, glaring at the ginger cat on Yancy’s bed as Yancy patched him up, snickering.

 

“Maybe you smell bad.”

“Maybe _you_ smell like fish.” Raleigh countered. Chuckles jumped down from Yancy’s bed and sat down next to Raleigh and Yancy, his tail sweeping the floor lazily. He cautiously sniffed at Raleigh’s band-aids. “I got work tomorrow, you hear?” He told Chuckles, who kept sniffing. “I already get cuts from hauling boxes.” Chuckles, in response, moved to his knuckles and lapped at it, almost apologetically.

 

“Sweet little thing, ain’t he?” Yancy grinned, rubbing Chuckles’ back as his scratchy tongue swiped over Raleigh’s knuckles.

 

Raleigh opened his palm and let Chuckles lick the creases of his palm. “When he’s not making confetti out of my arm, he’s not so bad.”

 

\--

 

“Jesus _fucking_ Christ, Yance, shut him the fuck up!” Raleigh pressed his pillows over his ears. Chuckles, for some reason or another, was yowling like a madman (madcat?). No matter what Yancy did, whether it be coaxing him with little pieces of hamburgers or trying to get him to purr instead, Chuckles kept yowling.

 

“You think something’s wrong with him?”

 

“Something’s going to be wrong with him in about thirty seconds if he doesn’t _shut up_.” Raleigh threw his glance over at the bedside clock. “It’s _four fucking thirty in the morning._ ” He’d fallen asleep as soon as he got home from his late-night shift, and he’d been looking forward to sleeping in the next day, since he had the rest of the weekend off. He hadn’t counted on their cat going haywire.

 

Chuckles had suddenly started yowling in the middle of the night, waking both him and Yancy up. Yancy, the prat who had an early weekend, was more worried about their furry nightmare than his little brother. Raleigh growled, threw the pillow off and stalked to the kitchen to get a drink of water. He was halfway to pouring himself a glass when he took a deep breath to sigh.

 

And froze.

 

“Yance.” He called. “Come here.” Yancy came into the kitchen, holding Chuck, who had stopped yowling for some reason. “You smell that?”

 

Yancy sniffed, and stiffened. “That’s gas.”

 

“All the stoves are off.”

 

The two brothers exchanged a glance, threw on a jacket and hauled ass out of the apartment. Chuckles jumped from their arms and trotted down the hallway, yowling all the way. The smell of gas was even stronger in the hallways, and Yancy and Raleigh banged on every door.

 

In ten minutes, the entire apartment was evacuated, and the fire department’s examination revealed a faulty gas pipe with a huge leak. Half an hour longer in the apartment would have started deaths. Chuckles was smugly snuggled into Yancy’s arms. “You boys saved our lives,” one of the tenants told him.

 

“No,” Raleigh said, staring at the cat. “Our _cat_ saved all our lives.”

 

\--

 

Chuckles made headlines. Not that he was interested, as a cat, but Raleigh and Yancy ended up getting a mountainload of cat toys and cat food and cat snacks snipped to their newly-fixed apartment. Chuck enjoyed those way too much. He went through a stuffed mouse almost every day, making Raleigh clean up stray cotton bits that were strewn all over the floor.

 

Yancy and Raleigh reaped their own benefits, best of which was free rent. “We’re not getting free rent,” Raleigh had pointed out, afterward. “Think of the lawsuit he could’ve faced if the gas exploded and people got hurt.” Yancy had punched him in the side and told him _appreciate things, kiddo_.

 

Other than the torrent of presents that landed on their doorsteps, life went on normally. Chuckles still refused to sleep with Raleigh, though he tolerated snuggling on the couch, Raleigh and Yancy still had their construction jobs, and life went on. Chuckles became a part of their lives. He was a strictly indoors cat. Even when Yancy left the door or the window open so Chuckles could get some air, Chuckles would sit at the windowsill or on the doormat, but never set foot outside unless Yancy or Raleigh was carrying him.

 

He wasn’t really an exceptional cat, neither too big nor too small. He purred when he was happy and hissed when he was angry, like any other cat. The only thing Chuckles was special about was that he seemed to completely understand human speech. He’d listen when Raleigh or Yancy were talking to him, meow when they asked him questions, and react happily or angrily depending on what they’d said.

 

Speech-understanding cat or not, Raleigh had to admit it was good to have a pet. He and Yancy sometimes came home near the same time, but most of the time Raleigh or Yancy would be at home alone, and they’d come back home to an empty, dark house. Now when Raleigh opened the door, Chuckles was curled up on the little cat-palace-thing that was in direct view of the door, waiting for him, and he came over to rub his cheeks on Raleigh’s leg when he was washing up.

 

It was the same even when Raleigh came home and Yancy was already home, asleep. The only difference was that Chuck wasn’t at the cat-palace-thing, but he’d come bounding, his padded feet making no noise on the floor, when Raleigh was unlacing his boots, and wait patiently for Raleigh to finish washing up to be scooped up and carried back to the bedroom.

 

\--

 

It was all nice, really. Until Yancy and Raleigh came home at 3 AM after a late night shift, and found a naked man on their couch.

 

With cat ears, a tail, and Chuckles’ black collar around his neck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for @greyneurosis

When Yancy said, “What the fuck”, naked-cat-man-on-bed jumped up. “Who the fuck are you? Did Tendo hire you? Are you a hooker?” He and Raleigh advanced toward the couch. “How did you even get in here?”

 

Cat-man jumped up, behind the couch, in an inhumanely graceful flip. It almost reminded Raleigh of Chuckles jumping on and off the couch. “Fuck,” cat-man swore, and then looked around wildly, the triangular ears on top of his head swiveling rapidly.

 

Raleigh strode around the couch, but cat-man ducked out of his grab and darted to the wall, his tail stuck straight out. Raleigh noted with confusion that the tail wasn’t a plug like he’d first thought, but actually attached to the bottom of his spine. “Are your ears and tail real?!”

 

Cat-man’s eyes, bright green like Chuckles’ own, darted nervously around them. “Fuck, I…”. Cat-man started to wring his hands. “Why are you two back so early? You were supposed to come back at 5.”

 

Yancy raised an eyebrow. “Our shifts ended early. But how would you even know that? Tendo _did_ hire you, didn’t he?”

 

Cat-man rolled his eyes. “For fuck’s sake, no. You brought me here a few months ago, remember?” His tail dropped and he took it into his hands, looking resigned. “You were never supposed to know.” He said, looking a little dejected. He looked at both Yancy and Raleigh, who had him pretty much cornered. “Don’t… freak out.”

 

Before either Yancy or Raleigh could ask what, cat-man suddenly shifted, and their familiar ginger tabby blinked remorsefully up at them. “Jesus fucking Christ,” Yancy whispered. “I’m dreaming.”

 

The cat sat still, looking nervously between them. “Our cat is a person.” Raleigh said, dazed. “Yancy, what the _fuck_. You _would_ pick the one cat in the pound that’s can turn into a human. Half human. Whatever.”

 

Chuckles shifted back into his cat-man form. “…So… I’m going to see myself out.”

 

Yancy blinked. Raleigh blinked. Yancy stood up straighter and said, “What? Why?”

Cat-man reached behind him to unbuckle his collar. “…Because no one wants a freak for a cat. It’s okay, I understand. I’ve been kicked out a couple of times already because I accidentally shifted when I wasn’t paying enough attention.” He handed the black collar to Yancy.

 

Yancy took the collar, but he stared at it. “…You don’t have to leave.”

 

Raleigh sighed, leaned behind to the wall and rubbed his temple. “Yeah. Stay. I mean, as long as we don’t have to feed you more food, or anything. Also, can we call you Chuck? Calling a grown up man Chuckles sound really dam _weird_.”

 

Chuck looked around at both of them, looking confused, like they were trying to play him. Finally, when Yancy smiled at him, offering the collar back, he smiled at them like the sun and sat so Yancy could buckle the collar around him again. “… Yeah. I’d like that.”

 

\--

 

They found out that Chuck needed to stay focused to stay a cat, which was why he used to stay as a cat-man when they weren’t home. Now that Yancy and Raleigh new, Chuck switched back and forth without warning, in his cat form when he ate or during the day, and sleeping, curled up, as a human on the couch. Raleigh quickly got used to seeing a naked man prowling about their apartment.

 

“I miss having my cat in bed,” Yancy complained one day, as Chuck ate his cat food as a cat. He ate on the table now that they knew he was half (or maybe even more) human. Chuck cocked his head at Yancy’s direction, swinging his tail contently. He finished his food and neatly stepped over the eggs and dropped into Yancy’s lap, purring lightly when Yancy rubbed under his chin.

 

Raleigh got used to seeing Chuck in his various forms. He was coarse with a rough sense of humor, and he was wary of Raleigh but smitten with Yancy. “Your favoritism is showing,” Raleigh told the cat one day, when he was purring under Yancy’s attention. Chuck glared at him, cat-eyes narrowing in distaste. “I don’t get it. How come you like Yancy so much but hate me so badly?”

 

Chuck yowled at him like he was supposed to understand and went back to rubbing his head on Yancy’s arm. “Because he can tell that I love him more than you do.”

 

Raleigh scowled. “I love him just as much as you do,” and Chuck yowled at him again.”

 

They got the week off for Christmas and New Year’s, so Raleigh found a girl to spend Christmas Eve with. She was an old friend that he usually hooked up with, and he listened to her usually interesting babble through one ear and out the other.

 

He was walking with her in his arm when he saw them. His brother was smiling and laughing with someone, and the girl in his arm said, “Is that _Yance_? I’ve never seen him hook up with – is that a _guy_?!”

 

Raleigh stared. It was _Chuck_. In his human form. There was a dark green beanie jammed over his head. While people who didn’t know wouldn’t have spotted the ears, Raleigh could see the bumps where his ears were lying beneath the green wool. He was wearing Raleigh’s old jacket, which was big enough to cover his back. Raleigh guessed his tail was tucked inside it. Yancy was smiling, his hands wrapped around Chuck’s as Chuck stared into a cup of what was probably hot chocolate, his cheeks flushed pink from the cold.

 

“Hold-hold on. I’m going to- yeah, excuse me.” He stormed over to where Yancy was trying to teach Chuck how to drink hot chocolate without burning his sensitive cat tongue. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

 

His sudden appearance made Chuck flinch and spill hot chocolate over his mittened hands. Yancy quickly took the paper cup and then the mittens off Chuck’s hands. “Look what you did,” Yancy said, glaring at Raleigh. Raleigh watched, dumbfounded, as Yancy slid his own gloves off his hands and slipped them onto Chuck’s hands.

 

“Are you two on a _date_?” Raleigh demanded.

 

Chuck blinked cattily at him. “Why, is there something wrong with that? You went on a date.”

 

Yancy laughed and snuck an arm around Chuck’s waist. “Yeah, Rals. What’s wrong with that? It’s Christmas, so I decided to take Chuck out.”

 

Raleigh’s own date popped up behind Raleigh. Stacy said, “Are you two… seeing each other?” Raleigh stared as Yancy’s eyes warmed.

 

But he just laughed again and said, “Chuck’s new around here. So I decided to show him around.”

 

Stacy pointed out, “You two look awfully close.” She looked excited. “Hey, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re hot.” She grinned at Chuck, who looked at her like she was an alien. Like his turning into a cat was more normal. “But apparently you don’t swing this way?”

 

Before Chuck could look even more flustered, Yancy handed Chuck the hot cocoa so he had something else to focus on. “Chuck’s special.” Yancy’s hands were getting red after he gave Chuck his own gloves, but he didn’t seem to mind as he pushed Chuck’s cocoa-soaked gloves into his pockets. “Anyway, don’t let us bother you.” He tugged Chuck over in the way of the ice skating rink, his motions tender and gentler than Raleigh had ever seen.

 

He was distracted for the rest of the night, but thankfully Stacy let him off, laughing. “I _know_ you’re curious about Yance and this man-catch. Actually, I’m a little curious, too. He has that adorable I-have-no-idea-what-the-fuck-is-happening kind of look, you know?”

 

Raleigh grumbled, “He kind of _is_ like that.”

 

Stacy sighed. “Cute. You owe me dinner later. I was looking forward to getting laid.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” _So was I_. He walked her home and then rushed back to his house. Yancy and Chuck weren’t back yet, and Yancy didn’t pick up when Raleigh called. He was gritting his teeth by the time the time they actually got back, Yancy holding a bag of clothes in one hand and a sleeping ginger tabby in the other. Raleigh’s eyes narrowed at his brother, but Yancy paid no heed.  “Stop acting like nothing’s wrong.” Raleigh snapped, when Yancy tucked Chuck into his own bed, like he was still _Chuckles_.

 

“Yeah? What’s wrong with this?”

 

“Yance, this isn’t normal.”

 

“Why, because he’s a guy?”

 

Raleigh reeled. “What? No, I don’t give two shits if you’re gay. Fuck, I like men better than women, too. That’s not the point. He’s not _human_. And – and you’re falling in love with him. Don’t try to deny it, Yance. I saw the way you were looking at him. Fucking _hell_ I’ve never seen you look like that to anyone, not even Blair, when you dated her.”

 

“And what’s wrong with that?”

 

The pair of them stared at each other. During their growth spurts, Raleigh had grown taller than his older brother, but Yancy seemed to tower over him now, confident in ways that was usually Raleigh’s job description. “You’re serious about this.” Raleigh whispered. When he looked over to the bed, Chuck was looking at him. His eyes were half-open, murky with sleep, but his ears were perked forward, his tail swinging dangerously. “Fuck.”

 

When Yance gave him a defiant look and spun on his heels to the bathroom, Raleigh turned toward the cat and jabbed a finger in his direction. “ _You_.” He hissed, and Chuck stared, green eyes narrowing. “You take good care of my brother, you fucking hear?”

 

\--

 

Raleigh didn’t _like_ what was happening, but Chuck was obviously smitten with Yancy as much as Yancy was smitten with Chuck. And Chuck wasn’t playing his cluelessness when it came to romance. He’d been a cat most of his 20 years. His human-to-human interaction was awkward, and Raleigh couldn’t decide if he was more cat or more human.

 

Even as a human, he curled up (naked) next to Yancy’s thigh, purring when Yancy rubbed his stomach, under his chin, or the back of his neck. But as a cat, he knocked to check if anyone was in the bathroom, hissed when Raleigh tried to come in while he was still in there, and only ate and drank as a cat.

 

On December 27th, Yancy was asked to come into work for double his usual rate, so Yancy got dressed, glaring at Raleigh in warning. So Raleigh squatted near cat-Chuck while he was lapping water from his bowl. “So, what are you? Cat or human?”

 

Chuck glared at him and took his time with the water. He didn’t answer Raleigh, just swerved, flicking Raleigh’s nose with his tail in the process, and trotted away, jumping up into Yancy’s upper bunk with feline ease. Raleigh stomped to the bedroom. “Okay, I get it. You don’t like me. But you’re more or less dating my brother, and I’d _like_ for us to get along. Can we talk like civilized people?”

 

Chuck glared, but he shifted to human. “You _said_ I was abnormal.” His eyes narrowed, but Raleigh realized with a start that Chuck looked _hurt_. Raleigh groaned inwardly, remembering Chuck had been thrown out of multiple households for being _abnormal_. Most of the time, the people had been convinced they had seen things, but thrown Chuck out anyway because they thought he was ‘bad luck’.

 

“I didn’t mean it.”

 

Chuck’s eyes narrowed. “You were pissed. You meant it.”

 

Raleigh sighed. “Please, come down? Can we talk eye to eye?” When Chuck didn’t budge, Raleigh bit the inside of his cheeks. “Listen. I’m really, really sorry. I was just pissed. Not at you, though. I was just mad at what was happening. Yancy’s good looking, so he’s popular with the girls. He and I both sleep around, but he got serious with one girl and it – didn’t end well, all right? He gets worried about me, but I worry about him, too. Our mom died, and our dad ditched when she did. We’re all we got left in this world. I just… It’s not that I had a problem with you. I would’ve had a problem with whoever he dated. It just came out wrong.”

 

Raleigh bowed his head. He heard a rustle and looked up to find Chuck (in his cat form) was on the floor. With a look, Chuck jumped into Raleigh’s bed instead, and shifted back into his human form. “I didn’t have anyone.” Chuck said, and Raleigh’s heart dropped. Right. “I thought I did, every time I found a family. There’d be kids who loved me, you know? Squeezed me a little too tight, but that was okay. And the adults, they’d pretend they didn’t care, but they took good care of me. And all of them threw me away like I was trash.” His ears flattened on his head and his tail hung limply. “I don’t know. Yancy didn’t do that. I didn’t – I didn’t ask to be like this. I don’t even know how I ended up like this. But that’s the way life is.”

 

Raleigh sat down. Chuck looked up, the tip of his nose red. Raleigh didn’t know what went through his head, but Chuck looked so vulnerable, so hurt. A rush of protectiveness rose inside his chest, and he thought maybe that was what Yancy saw, the pure, raw hurt that he wanted to guard. He didn’t know why he did what he did next.

 

He raised a hand, thumbed Chuck’s jawline, and brought their lips together.


	3. Chapter 3

Chuck avoided him entirely after that. He made it almost way too obvious, hissing and spitting if Raleigh got too close. He stayed completely feline near Raleigh, and only turned into a human when Yancy coaxed him to.

 

Raleigh spent most of his vacation outside, sometimes sleeping around with Sophie and sometimes just going drinking out in bars. On New Year’s Eve, Yancy stood in front of the door. “Come on, Rals.” He picked Chuck up from the doorway. Chuck glared, but he wasn’t hissing at Raleigh, which was a little better. He hoped. “You’ve been going out every single day. Stay home for the Eve.”

 

Raleigh hesitated, but Chuck meowed, jumping off Yancy’s hands to jump on top of Raleigh’s shoulder. Raleigh flinched – Chuck had never really done that before. He was always all over Yancy, but he’d kept off Raleigh, even before Raleigh’d kissed him. Chuck snorted, his tail swinging lazily to tickle Raleigh’s shoulder. When Raleigh reached up to scratch beneath his chin, Chuck didn’t move away. “…Okay. I guess I can stay.”

 

Yancy beamed and Chuck jumped back onto Yancy’s shoulder, purring lightly when Yancy rubbed his ears. “Come on. Let’s get some lunch, and we can head out to enjoy the city together.”

 

Chuck stayed next to Raleigh as Yancy cooked. He was human, yet, but at least he wasn’t running way. Chuck sat in front of him on the table, staring silently. It was pretty frightening to see intense green eyes boring endlessly into him. Yancy then said, “Chuck told me.” Raleigh looked up. Yancy wasn’t looking at him, just frying up some rice on the pan. Chuck wasn’t moving at all, just staring holes into Raleigh’s’ head. “You made him cry, you know.” Chuck moved then, jumping elegantly down to go onto the counter near Yancy. Yancy reached down to kiss his head. “So. Why’d you do it? And then go beat yourself over it and not even be able to handle seeing me afterward, hmm?” He turned to place two dishes and put aside a little to put into Chuck’s food bowl. He didn’t look angry at all, just honestly curious. He beckoned Raleigh over and Raleigh went over, a little numb. “So?”

 

He stared at his friend rice. Neither Chuck nor Yancy was saying anything or even eating their food. He finally said, “I don’t know. It just happened.” His voice was so quiet it was almost nonexistent. “I didn’t think about any of it. It’s.. I just did. And I didn’t mean to.”

 

Yancy nodded. “Yeah, I know. Obviously you regretted it. And it’s not like you were trying to get Chuck to cheat on me, or anything. Well. You made Chuck cry a little, but I’m guessing you beat yourself over what happened just as much.” He reached over to ruffle Chuck’s hair. Chuck snorted, shook Yancy’s hand off, and started to eat. “I don’t want you to be walking on eggshells around me, Rals. We’re okay. And I don’t want Chuck to be running away from you all the time whenever both of you are around the house.”

 

Raleigh reached out and placed his hand on Chuck’s head. He did the same thing when Yancy did it – shook his hand off and went back to eating. “Yance. I’m sorry.”

 

Yancy grinned and punched his arm. “I know. And I forgive you. So does Chuck.”

 

Chuck meowed then, done with his food. He stalked over to Raleigh instead of Yancy, dropped down into his lap, and settled there. Yancy grinned and even Raleigh couldn’t help but smile. He rubbed Chuck between the ears, and Chuck started to purr lightly. It was the first time Chuck had ever purred under his hand, and Raleigh startled. Yancy only grinned wider. “Yeah, you’re definitely forgiven.”

\--

 

They went out together after lunch to the city. Chuck jammed his ears under the beanie and tucked his tail under Raleigh’s old sweater. He looked incredibly excited. “We could leave the door open for you,” Yancy said, rubbing Chuck’s cheeks after tugging mittens onto his hands. “You like going out so much.”

Chuck blushed a little. “Uh, no. Uh… It’s okay.” He shrugged. “I don’t like going out by myself. I used to get…” He hesitated, and bit his lip, but managed to continue. “Families used to lock me out when I left. I mean, a lot of them did it by accident, you know. But.. yeah.” He looked embarrassed. “I’ll just stay in.”

 

Raleigh had never really realized how much Chuck had suffered. He got an image of their ginger tabby, locked out in a storm, mewling pitifully under the roar of the wind. He’d also been kicked out numerous times, and it’d made him wary of human relationships. He had no idea how he became the way he was, and had no real member before he was a cat-human. He had no idea when he’d gotten the date August 14, 2003 from, but that was the date that had stuck in his head, and he’d assumed it was his birthday.

 

Yancy must have thought the same thing, because he took Chuck’s hand and kissed his nose. “You’re not getting locked out of this house. If it ever happens, I want you to know that it’ll 100% be by accident. Go over to Tendo’s. He’s close, and he’ll let you in to call us. He has a dog door from an old dog he used to have, so you’ll be able to get in even if his door’s closed. We’re not going to abandon you, baby.” He touched their foreheads together and Chuck smiled hesitantly. He let Yancy kiss him again, purring lightly in his throat.

 

Anchorage on New Year’s Eve was crowded and noisy. “We get the new year the latest in the world,” Raleigh told Chuck, handing him a cup of hot chocolate to warm his hands. Yancy brought them a bunch of hotdogs from a street cart, and Chuck sniffed at one before taking a bite. “Man, look at all these kids.” Raleigh rolled his eyes. “Everyone and their kids are out today. I wanted to see Chuck ice skate, but it must be totally packed.”

 

Yancy steered Chuck to the direction of the rink. “Well, let’s go see if we can make it, anyway. Come along, little bro.” Raleigh sighed and took place on Chuck’s other side as they weaved their way through the crowd, Yancy holding securely onto Chuck’s left hand as Chuck wrestled with the hotdog with his other.

 

The rink, as expected, was packed full of little kids, couples, and teenagers. “If we go in there now, Chuck’s going to get run over by the good ones.”

 

Chuck (who was working on a second hotdog now) looked indignant. “I’m not that bad, all right?” He kicked Raleigh’s shin and bit ferociously into his hotdog. It didn’t hurt. “Cats and ice just don’t get along that well, that’s all.” He followed Yancy and Raleigh to the ticket booth. He was still sulking as he let Yancy lace up his rental skates, gnawing on the last remaining pieces of the hotdog before he tossed the stick away. But when Raleigh helped him onto the ice, Chuck brightened. He was clutching onto Yancy like he was a lifeline, but he was grinning like a kid on Christmas.

 

“I thought cats and ice didn’t mix,” Raleigh teased as he skated next to Chuck. Yancy was holding his hands and skating expertly backwards so Chuck could wobble along. “You seem way too happy for a cat on ice.” Raleigh gave Chuck a light shove, sending him flailing to the ground. He snickered when Yancy managed to catch him on the way down, so Chuck landed on Yancy and Yancy took the ass-to-the-ice. Raleigh rolled his eyes. “What are you, his knight in shining armor?”

 

Yancy snorted. “Play nice, Rals.” Chuck stuck his tongue out at Raleigh as Yancy hoisted him up onto his feet. “Oh, real mature, Chuck. You’re just as bad as he is, I swear.” He tried to look exasperated, but he looked way too happy and Raleigh just laughed.

 

They took turns guiding Chuck along the ice. His hands trembled in Raleigh’s hands, Raleigh noticed. “Hey,” Raleigh grinned when Chuck took his hands in a death grip. “I got you. Relax. You’ll enjoy yourself more, I promise.” He quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t you trust me?”

 

Chuck grumbled, “Not really,” but he relaxed. He was still holding tightly onto Raleigh’s hands, but now he was letting Raleigh lead him around the rink easily. He was smiling, so bright and innocent like a child, and Raleigh couldn’t help but smile back.

 

“Hey,” Yancy slid up beside them. “I’m getting a little jealous here, watching you two.” Chuck looked up, his eyes wide, but when he saw Yancy was joking, he grinned back. “You think you can try going by yourself. We’ll be right here to catch you if you fall.”

 

Chuck tried (and fell multiple times on top of Yancy and Raleigh), and in the end he was making his way around the ice by himself. He was a little (or very) clumsy at it, sure, but at least he wasn’t flailing around or falling on his ass every three feet.

 

But Chuck skating by himself posed a new problem. “How do I stop?” He asked, trying to grab at Raleigh. Raleigh snickered and deftly sped out of the way, but Yancy – the traitor – slid up to take Chuck’s panicked hands. “I got you.” Yancy pressed his lips to Chuck’s neck. Chuck yelped when cold skin touched his neck, but Yancy just laughed and slid him to the exit, a firm arm across his waist.

 

They bought Chuck another cup of hot chocolate, and Yancy chuckled as Chuck burned his tongue for the fifth time. Raleigh couldn’t help it. He smiled. “You look happy, Yance,” he told Yancy, once Chuck had decided to get more marshmallows to float in his hot chocolate.

 

Yancy’s grin was as bright as the sun. “I _am_ happy.”


	4. Chapter 4

Raleigh sank down next to Tendo. “I think I’m in love with my brother’s boyfriend.”

 

Tendo almost choked on his coffee. “You two go on a vacation for a week and this is what you come back to me with?”

 

Raleigh let out a frustrated sigh. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, all right? The three of us spent a lot of time together over the week and – just.” He groaned again and tore into his sandwich. “How do I deal with this? I really, really don’t want to interrupt their relationship. Yancy’s obviously really happy with Chuck, and Chuck is really happy with Yance. I’m not going to break what they have just for my sake.”

 

Tendo rubbed his temple. “You brothers cause me a lot more pain than I need.” After a while, he said, “I’d say about the only thing you _can_ do is to just let it go. You don’t want to bother them, but it’s not like you can stop yourself from liking him. Just deal with your teenage angst. It’ll fade.”

 

Raleigh closed his eyes. It was really about the only thing he could really do.

 

\--

 

“Yance.” Raleigh called, rubbing out a knot in his shoulder. “Chuck. I’m home’ There was no greeting and Raleigh rolled his eyes. Yancy had lately been taking Chuck out as often as he could, and Raleigh didn’t blame him. He himself did it as much as possible, especially after they found out Chuck was traumatized about going out by himself but loved going outside.

 

He poured himself a cup of water and pulled his sweater up over his shoulders before he headed to his bedroom. He was about to enter and crash into his bed when he heard it. A low, breathy moan. Raleigh froze, and then pushed the door open slowly. Yancy and Chuck were on Yancy’s bed, Chuck’s legs spread around Yancy’s waist. Yancy was suckling on Chuck’s neck, and Chuck’s tail thrashed below him, his ears flat on his head as Yancy kept his hips steadily thrusting.

 

Raleigh fell over, crashing through the door. “Jesus _fuck_ ,” he swore, and looked up. Chuck looked horrified, but Yancy looked a little amused. “Sorry. I didn’t – shit. I was going to leave, but I tripped.” He scrambled up, trying to keep his eyes glued to the floor, and everywhere _not_ Chuck or Yancy.

 

Yancy snorted. “It’s fine. We’re done anyway.” He pulled away from Chuck and Raleigh heard the wet thump of a used condom into the trash can. He made a face, and Yancy waved his hand. “I’ll take the trash out.”

 

“You better.” Raleigh rubbed his forehead as Yancy quickly pulled his boxers on to jump down.

 

Yancy chuckled. “Toss me the box of tissues, will you?” Raleigh tossed him the box, still keeping his eyes glued to the wall. He heard the soft swish of the tissues as Yancy rubbed Chuck clean. “It’s okay to look now, you prude.”

 

Raleigh glanced up to see Yancy pulling a sweater onto himself. Chuck himself was buried under blankets, but Raleigh could see his pointed ears. Raleigh sighed. “You didn’t hear me come in? I called for both of you.” Raleigh rubbed his forehead again, still unsure where to really look. He’d never been so embarrassed about sex before. Hel, he and Yancy had even had threesomes. But something about Chuck just made him sheepish.

 

Yancy shrugged. “No. Chuck was a bit loud. You didn’t hear him?” He was answered instead by a pillow to his head. Chuck was glowering at him, his ears flat on his head and his sharper-than-normal teeth bared. Yancy only laughed and reached up to kiss Chuck. Chuck hmphed but accepted the kiss, burrowing under the blankets again and staring at Raleigh like he was daring him to say anything at all.

 

Raleigh decided to change the topic entirely and said instead, “Yance, I’m hungry.” Yancy was already out the room and he waved Raleigh to him. Chuck threw a last defying glare Raleigh’s way before he slid off the bed, sliding into a pair of Raleigh’s old sweatpants even before both of his feet were on the floor. He tugged his tail through the hole Yancy had cut in them and led the way out of the room, his tail swishing contently behind him.

 

When Chuck led the way out, Yancy was already heating up a frying pan. “You hungry?” He asked Chuck, when Chuck sat down at the table.

 

Chuck shook his head. “I’ll just sit here with you guys.” He grinned at the pair of them as he made himself comfortable, his tail happily lax behind him. He smiled cattily at Raleigh and then he was all cat again, swishing his tail on the table as the sweatpants he’d been wearing fell into a heap on the chair. Chuck purred when Yancy sat down and ruffled his head. He folded his legs below himself and basked in Yancy’s attention.

 

“Right out of a fairy tail, aren’t you two?” Raleigh snorted when Chuck started purring up a storm under Yancy’s hand.

 

Yancy chuckled. “More like badly written porn.” He didn’t stop rubbing Chuck’s back, though he was now looking at Raleigh. They struck up normal conversation, complaining about the job like they always did, though it never really was that bad. It was a normal day in the Becket household, really, except now that there was a cat. That his brother was dating.

 

No wonder Raleigh’s life was so fucked up.

 

\--

 

Raleigh kept his mouth shut about his feelings to Chuck or to Yancy. Nothing good was going to come out of it anyway. He hadn’t seen Yancy look the way he did since a very long time ago, and Chuck looked so god damned happy with Raleigh. He liked the pace, liked the happy mood of the entire situation. It wasn’t even like Chuck and Yancy left him out or made him feel like a third wheel, or anything of the sort. In fact, all three of them were family, some sort of dysfunctional thing. Sure, Raleigh fantasized about Chuck when he jerked off. Thought about that tail thrashing as he fucked him into the mattress. Thought about stroking an ear as the pretty lips swallowed him down. But it wasn’t as if he was going to act out on them, or anything.

 

“So,” he told Tendo again, one day when he and Yancy had different shifts. He couldn’t stop thinking that Yancy and Chuck were probably fucking again. “This crush is getting really bad.”

 

Tendo sighed. “You need to get laid.”

 

“Why is that even your solution to everything?” Raleigh sighed. “I tried, okay? I was with Sophia last night and almost called her his name.”

 

Tendo whistled lowly. “You got it that bad, huh? Why don’t you talk to Yance about it?”

 

“That is the worst idea. Remember how he was with that one girl he got really serious with? That’s how it is. I swear I can see love beams from his eyes when he looks at Chuck.”

 

Tendo raised an eyebrow. “I really want to meet the man who has the two Beckets lovestruck. He must be one heck of a guy.” Ralsigh sighed, nodded, and moaned his fate.

 

\--

 

He toyed with the idea of telling Yancy for a while, but he let the thought die every time he saw Yancy. Yancy just looked so goddamned happy about Chuck that Raleigh just had no chance to speak up.

 

Sometimes, though, when Yancy and he had different shifts and Yancy got the day shift, Raleigh took Chuck out like Yancy usually did. And Chuck hung onto him like a leech, afraid of getting lost. So they usually held hands, and sometimes they did even when Yancy was around. Chuck would usually reach for whoever was closer, so Raleigh had learned to position himself close. Yancy never seemed to really mind, so Raleigh would take Chuck’s mittened hand and just feel his warmth beep through the woolly material.

 

On the weekends, both brothers had the days off, so they usually went out on Saturdays. They never went to anywhere too fancy or expensive, but Chuck seemed to love it all. He loved the ice rink, and that became a weekly stop for the trio.

 

In fact, he was exactly at the ice rink, sipping on his almost finished hot chocolate when someone yanked him back. Both Yancy and Raleigh jumped to attention, but the man who had yanked Chuck back was just staring at Chuck. The man’s green eyes were almost comically wide, and Raleigh realized with a start that the man and Chucked looked eerily alike. Yancy must have realized the same thing, because he paused once he saw the man’s face.

 

The man whispered, “…Chuck?”

 

Raleigh flinched. “Who are you, and how do you know his name?” He cut across the pair as Yancy yanked Chuck to him. Chuck was the name Raleigh himself had given him. He still remembered telling Chuck that they’d call him Chuck, because Chuckles was too weird to call a grown up man. Even if said man was feline half of the time.

 

And Chuck never left the house without them. There was no way this man, who looked too much like Chuck to begin with, could know his name.

 

The man spoke, and Raleigh realized that even their voices were similar, right down to the Australian accent. “That’s my son. Chuck Hansen. My son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. I've been away for SO LONG. Real life kicked me hard in my ovaries.


	5. Chapter 5

Before the three of them could even respond to this new sudden development, a large man came hulking through the crowd. “Herc!” He grabbed the man and looked at the three of them. “Please excuse my friend,” he said, sighing with a thick Russian accent. He nodded at the three of them, but paused when his eyes landed on Chuck. His eyes widened, and he stared. “…I see.”

 

He turned and started to talk rapidly in Russian. A woman came over, looking just as fierce as the man. Her eyes zoned in on Chuck, and he took half a step back. The man gently pushed ‘Herc’ to the woman, and said, “I apologize for my friend.” He cleared his throat. “He lost both his son and wife a few years ago in a bad car accident. You look very much like his son.” The man paused, looking unsure how to continue. “May I get your name?”

 

Chuck hesitated and glanced at Yancy, clutching onto Raleigh’s sleeve like it was a lifeline. “Chuck,” Yancy answered instead. “He’s Chuck Becket. I’m Yancy Becket, and this is Raleigh. He’s my youngest brother.” Chuck nodded, stepping another half step back. Raleigh could see his cat ears press flat on his head, and his tail stock still. His entire body was still but his eyes were wide blown, darting furiously like he was looking for an exit.

 

Raleigh pressed his hand onto Chuck’s back. “Chuck. It’s okay,” he whispered, quietly, and Chuck looked at him and smiled nervously, then ducked his head.

 

The original man – Herc – came back. “I’m sorry. I know I made you surprised.” He rubbed his face. “But I’d like to talk to you. Just a little more.”

 

Yancy shook his head. “Not today. I think Chuck’s had enough surprises for today. I understand you want to see more of Chuck. Even I can see the resemblance you have with Chuck. But you have to realize that you’re a complete stranger to us.”

 

Raleigh knew why Yancy was getting cautious and defensive. If someone managed to get too close to Chuck, his secret might be no longer a secret. Raleigh could feel Chuck’s tail under his hand, and he wanted to just take Chuck and run the hell out of there. Herc still held out what Raleigh guessed was a business card, and before Yancy could reject it, Chuck reached for it and took it.

 

Raleigh and Yancy stared at Chuck, but Chuck shoved the card in his pocket and hung onto Raleigh’s sleeve again.

 

\--

 

When they got back home, Yancy quietly helped Chuck undress. The tension was so thick that Raleigh decided to break it. “Do you know who he is?”

 

Chuck hesitated, which wasn’t what Raleigh was expecting. He was expecting a _no I don’t_. Or _I’ve never seen him in my life_. Chuck finally said, “I don’t know.”

 

Raleigh scowled. “You don’t know?”

 

Chuck rubbed his tail nervously, eyes darting in Raleigh’s direction. “I don’t – I’ve never seen him. At least not at all that I can remember. But he’s familiar. He looks a lot like me. He even has my accent. I don’t have anything – I don’t have any memory of how I was before I woke up in the back alley, half cat and half human. Maybe we’re connected. Maybe he knows something about-“ Chuck paused and looked nervously at both of them again. “… I… I won’t go see him. If you don’t want me to. That’s okay. I’d rather not do what you don’t want me to do.”

 

Raleigh’s scowl deepened, and he immediately regretted his anger. “No. I…” He sighed and rubbed his neck. “You can go if you want, Chuck. I don’t want to keep this from you. We aren’t going to kick you out just because you go to see this guy.”

 

Yancy tugged Chuck closer, tugging the beanie off his head to free his ears. “We’re just worried about losing you, Chuck. I don’t want you to suddenly up and leave. You’re important to me. To both of us.” He smiled when Chuck rubbed his cheek against Yancy’s hand, tugging Yancy to the couch.

 

“I’m not leaving you,” Chuck laughed. “I would never. Plus, I… I don’t think I can see this guy by myself. The two of you will be there, right?”

 

\--

 

They made the date – or appointment, as Raleigh kept calling in his head – for Saturday evening at their apartment, because Chuck wanted to be at home, somewhere familiar. Herc, however, did bring a shit ton of food with him. Most of it was from restaurants Raleigh and Yancy had never even dreamed of going into. Chuck didn’t seem impressed, which Raleigh took little comfort in.

 

They talked, a little stiffly at first but then got comfortable, and after a point Raleigh decided this man really was a good person. He wanted to just genuinely spend time with someone who looked like his dead son. Raleigh could understand it.

 

“This is my wife and son. And my old dog.” Herc said, sliding an old photo out of his wallet. Raleigh took it and blinked. The son looked like a younger version of Chuck – in fact, he didn’t even look that much younger. “You see why I acted the way I did?”

 

Yancy raised his eyebrow. “Yeah, holy crap.” He took the photo and slid his gaze upward to Chuck. “He looks just like you.”

 

Chuck took the picture. His eyes softened a little and a ghost of a smile flickered across his lips as he padded the photo. “…Max,” he whispered. It was soft, barely audible.

 

But Herc froze. “..What?”

 

Chuck blinked. “Huh?”

 

“You said Max.” Herc’s eyes were blown wide. “How did you – How could – that’s the dog’s name. My son named him. How could you have possibly known that?”

 

Yancy put his spoon down at this, his face unreadable. A heavy silence followed that, and Raleigh grabbed Chuck’s hand because he looked like he wanted to get up and run away. After a while, Yancy cleared his throat. “Chuck, maybe it’s time we stop denying what’s in front of us and face it.”

 

Herc was staring quietly at both of them, and Chuck was frozen in place. Raleigh squeezed his hand once again, smiling even though he felt the uncertainty like a lead weight in his stomach. Could they trust this man? Sure, he seemed nice, but they’d known him for barely a full day. What if he brought about a bunch of chaos? Could they deal with it?

 

But Chuck was already pulling his beanie off. A stunned silence followed the movement. Yancy cleared his throat. “Those are real. We aren’t trying to pull a fast one on you.” Chuck wasn’t speaking, or even moving. He was staring at the food, gnawing on his lips and keeping his fists clenched on his lap. “Chuck isn’t _actually_ our brother. He doesn’t know his history. But he said you look familiar. And he just knew your dog’s name. You two have the Australian accent, and you two look alike. Really alike. We may be grasping at straws here, but it’s all we’ve got.”

 

Herc was staring at Chuck’s ears. He stood abruptly, stalked around the table and stuck his hand out. But he paused, his hand trembling. “May I?”

 

Chuck flinched, glanced at Raleigh, and then Yancy, but then slid his gaze downward again and nodded, gripping Raleigh’s hand. Yancy flinched visibly when Herc tugged gently on Chuck’s ears. Chuck winced but didn’t move. “They’re real,” Herc said, his voice soft. “How can this even happen?”

 

Raleigh managed a weak laugh. “We were hoping you’d know. Chuck, tell him that date you remember.” Chuck did, his hand still clutched onto Raleigh’s hand.

 

Herc turned white. “That’s Chuck’s birthday. And…” He crumbled to the ground, swallowing thickly. “And death date. We were… going out for his birthday.”

 

Yancy winced. “I’m sorry. Listen, Mr. Hansen. Chuck woke up as a cat a few years ago. He doesn’t even know how many years ago. He just did, in a back alley. When we got him, his collar read Chuckles, and when we found out about the way he could turn into a person, we started calling him Chuck.”

 

Herc stared up at Chuck, but Chuck was still staring at his food, and Yancy stood to come over to Chuck. Chuck dug into Yancy’s arms, but kept his hand in Raleigh’s. After a long, long while, Herc stood. “All right. I’ll look into this.” His gaze was still glued onto Chuck.

 

“Wait, you can’t tell anyone about this,” Raleigh blurted. “Please. If anyone hears about this, they’ll try to take Chuck away. We knew we were taking a big risk telling you, but-“

 

Raleigh was stopped with a hand. “Don’t worry. The Russians and I have back doors in everything. No one will know what we’re digging into, or what we’re looking for.”

 

Yancy blinked. “How – What do you do?”

 

There was a humorless chuckle. “Don’t worry about it.” He started to shrug his coat onto himself, then paused. He knelt in front of Chuck. “In all my years, I’ve learned to trust my instincts. I don’t know what your story is, and I don’t know if our stories come together. But something tells me that I didn’t meet you for no reason.” He stood. “Will you shake my hand, if I offer?”

 

Chuck stared at the hand and dug his face back into Yancy’s chest. Herc laughed kindly, clapped Chuck’s shoulder, and shook hands with Yancy and Raleigh instead. He nodded at the food. “Enjoy. I’ll drop by when I get something.”

 

\--

 

They spent the next few days in a daze. Chuck was staring off into space more often than not. He didn’t seem to realize which form he was in. Sometimes, he’d wander to his food bowl and then startle because he wasn’t a cat. Then he’d try to cram a beanie over his head and then realize that he wasn’t human.

 

Yancy finally snatched him up one day when Chuck almost fell into the toilet as a cat. “Chuck,” Yancy said, his voice gentle. “You need to snap out of it. Everything is going to be fine. Worst case scenario, we won’t find out your history. And then nothing will happen.” Yancy rubbed Chuck’s ear and pressed a kiss onto his nose. “I know you’re scared of being abandoned again. But it won’t happen. I swear.”

 

Chuck was a little better after that. He stayed mostly feline, like it made him feel more secure. He was more affectionate, was more touchy than usual until Raleigh plucked him up by the scruff of his neck off his lap. “Chuck. Be normal. Stop trying to be what you aren’t. Yancy already told you this, and I’m going to say it again. You don’t need to do anything, or change. Just be what you are.”

 

So Chuck spent most of his time as a cat, jumping every single time the phone rang or there was a knock on the door. He then sagged down when it wasn’t Herc.

 

Finally, one day the phone rang and it _was_ Herc, and then Chuck prowled around Yancy’s legs until he hung up. “He didn’t tell me much. Just that he was going to be heading over tonight.”

 

Chuck stayed near the door after that, his ear swiveling at every single noise. He jumped when the bell rang and scrambled down into the cushions on the old couch, peeking out at the door as Yancy pulled the door open.

 

Herc hauled in huge containers of food and looked around. He caught the cat under the cushions and smiled, a little sadly. “Is that Chuck?”

 

Yancy nodded, and Raleigh tugged the cat out from under the cushions. Chuck came quietly, willingly, but stayed cat as they settled down. No one touched the food, and Chuck was stiff in Yancy’s lap.

 

“Right, then. Let’s get this out first. My son…” Herc paused, cleared his throat, and started again. “My son died. It was definitely him that was buried. Five years ago. But Aleksis and Sasha – those are the Russians – checked into every CCTV they could, tracking back Chuck through cameras. And I had to see it myself, multiple times, to make sure. Chuck, you just appeared.”

 

Yancy blinked. “What?”

 

“Just appeared.” Herc confirmed, sliding a CD to Yancy. “In a back alley. Appeared first as a cat, shifted into a human, and then back into a cat, and then the process repeated. It seemed like you were confused as to what was happening, but you got control over it quite quickly, and then set off. Then you were adopted, and abandoned multiple times. Until you got here.”

 

Yancy picked the CD up. “And the date..”

Herc nodded, looking grim. “The date and time correlate exactly to the date and time my son was pronounced dead.” His face was set into a hard line. “It might be coincidence.”

 

Raleigh rubbed his head. “What could it be, if it wasn’t?”

 

Herc looked directly at cat-Chuck. “Whatever it is that made Chuck half cat, half man. It’s not exactly natural, this thing. I don’t have a name for it. But I’ll be damned if it’s just simple coincidence. You recognized me. You knew Max’s name, and all this.” Herc crossed his arms across his check, but his gaze was soft and sincere. “You’re my son.”


End file.
